After bidding farewell to Cao Tiedan, Gu Liyue took Yunniang and walked all the way to the foot of the verdant mountain on the outskirts of Yangxin Town. There was a village here. Since it was close to Yangxin Town, this village was quite large and almost connected to the town.
Yunniang gestured curiously: What are we doing here?
Gu Liyue explained, "I've thought it over. Renting a house in the town is not going to be cheap, but the rent in the village is much lower. We should be able to afford it."
Yunniang was silent for a long time. She looked up at the villagers and pulled the bundle in her hand up a bit.
Gu Liyue knew what she meant. "Yunniang, you're thinking about what Tiedan said, right? Why should I give up the house that was my parents'?"
Yunniang nodded repeatedly.
Gu Liyue continued, "First of all, that house has already been transferred to my uncle. It would be extremely difficult to get it back. Although the Third Uncle is an upright man, the others are all from the Liu family. They'll always side with their own. Moreover, I'm just an orphan with no one to rely on. Even if the house were to fall into my hands, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to keep it. It's better to give up the house in exchange for our safety."
Yunniang was stunned. In her heart, Liyue had always been just a child, soft and small. No matter how smart she was, she was still just a child. She never expected that without realizing it, Liyue had already thought so much and so far ahead.
This child really took after her father.
After thinking for a while, Yunniang gestured again: Liyue, go look for your family?
Gu Liyue shook her head. "You mean my father's family? I don't know them, Yunniang. I don't want to live a life of depending on others like before. I'm timid and don't like to socialize. All I could do was endure and get sick from bottling up my feelings. It's better if I spend my whole life with you."
Yunniang gestured: But if you have family, you'll be able to marry into a good family.
Gu Liyue took Yunniang's arm. "If someone marries me because of my family background, where will the true feelings be? And since I've lived in a poor family, even if I marry well, I won't be respected. It's better to live an ordinary life."
Hearing this, Yunniang stopped trying to persuade her.
Gu Liyue quickly found a vacant house in the southern part of the village. The neighbors were all ordinary families. The owner of the house did small business in the county town. Now he had taken his elderly parents to the county town, leaving the house in the village vacant.
The old woman had given away all the chickens and ducks. She was reluctant to leave the house empty, saying that the flowers in the front yard were about to bloom and it was a pity to leave them behind. Coincidentally, she met Gu Liyue and Yunniang who came to rent the house. The old woman was very satisfied with Gu Liyue, and Gu Liyue promised to take good care of the flowers in the yard.
When the two old people went to the county town, they couldn't take all the furniture and utensils with them, so they left them all behind. They agreed that the rent would be only three taels of silver a year for Gu Liyue and Yunniang to live in. It was a very good deal and saved them the trouble of buying big items.
After signing the contract and paying the money, it was already evening when Gu Liyue and Yunniang moved in. The sky had darkened.
The old couple was leaving the next day, so they still needed to stay there tonight. They let Gu Liyue and Yunniang rest in the small room at the back for the time being.
Gu Liyue relaxed. Looking at the little over one tael of silver left in her hand, although it wasn't much, they could still get by for a while.
Yunniang gestured: I'll continue to work tomorrow. In total, I can earn one tael of silver a month.
But Gu Liyue shook her head. "Yunniang, tomorrow, you should quit one job and just keep one. The two of us don't need much. Half a tael of silver is enough."
Yunniang continued to gesture: Half a tael of silver is enough for us, but we won't be able to save much. We should earn more.
Gu Liyue was unhappy. "From now on, it's just the two of us. We don't need so much money. You've worked too hard because of me before. You don't need to do that anymore. Half - day work is enough."
Yunniang stroked Gu Liyue's hair and gestured: Our life will get better and better in the future.
On the outskirts of the village, the old people had a small vegetable garden. Besides the flowers in the yard, there was also a little watchdog. Every day when Yunniang went to work, Gu Liyue would take care of the vegetables and flowers, and then sit in the yard embroidering. The little dog would run around merrily and soon got familiar with Gu Liyue and Yunniang.
However, Yunniang was worried about Gu Liyue's eyes and didn't allow her to do too much embroidery. So there was always half a day of leisure every day.
When they were free, Yunniang would make medicinal cuisine to nourish Gu Liyue. In less than half a month, Gu Liyue's cheeks were no longer as gaunt as before, and her spirit was much better.
On a fine day, Yunniang went to work early in the morning. Gu Liyue didn't want to embroider today. She locked the door and took Xiao Hei out for a stroll. She walked all the way to the foot of the mountain and up the mountain path. She could still see the villagers coming and going. They greeted Gu Liyue warmly.
"Miss Gu, don't go deep into the mountains. There are fierce beasts there. It's not safe."
Gu Liyue quickly nodded. "Thank you, Uncle Niu. I know."
The villager added, "Go that way. It rained last night. There are mushrooms, and the wild vegetables have also grown. But be careful of the slippery road."
Gu Liyue was overjoyed. With wild vegetables and mushrooms, she could buy some flour later to make dumplings. She quickly thanked him and took Xiao Hei in the direction Uncle Niu had pointed.
She hadn't walked far when she saw a few wild vegetables here and there, but it was obvious that someone had already dug here.
The wild vegetables and mushrooms after the rain were extremely delicious. Some village girls who weren't busy would come in groups early in the morning to dig wild vegetables and pick mushrooms to sell in the town, so most of the ones nearby had been picked.
"Come on, there must be some inside."
The soil was still wet, and the road was difficult to walk on. Gu Liyue picked up a branch. She tapped the grass to scare away any snakes and used it as a walking stick as she slowly climbed up.
After walking for a while, the forest became denser. Gu Liyue quickly picked half a basket of mushrooms and half a basket of wild vegetables.
"That's enough. We can make soup and dumplings. It's enough for Yunniang and me to eat today. There's also enough for you, Xiao Hei. Let's go back. We still need to go to the town later."
But Xiao Hei had run off somewhere.
Gu Liyue was worried and called out, "Xiao Hei, where have you gone? Xiao Hei?"
In the distance, she heard Xiao Hei barking. It seemed that something had happened to him.
Could he have encountered a beast? No, she hadn't gone deep into the dense forest, and there were no other sounds except Xiao Hei's barks.
Xiao Hei ran over in a flash, circled around Gu Liyue once, barked again, and then ran in the direction he had come from.
"Xiao Hei, we really need to go back."
Gu Liyue pretended to leave, but Xiao Hei stopped and circled around in place. As he circled, he barked in that direction.
After thinking for a while, Gu Liyue still followed Xiao Hei deeper into the forest. Before long, she saw a little boy lying under a tree.
The boy was about five or six years old. He was as delicate as a carved jade figurine and very good - looking. But his cheeks were unnaturally red, and his body was covered in dirt.
Gu Liyue quickly stepped forward and reached out to feel his forehead. It was extremely hot. Taking a closer look, the hem of the boy's clothes and the cuffs of his trousers were torn, and there were bloodstains seeping out. It seemed that he had rolled down the mountain.